Chapter 23 Natural Disaster 11

Chapter 23: Natural Disaster (Part 11)

Cai Cheng was busy moving his belongings, while Su Han watched silently, seizing the chance to swiftly kill a large mosquito.

Seeing this, Cai Cheng genuinely felt a sense of security! He involuntarily quickened his pace.

Zhong Rui stepped out of his room and asked, "Got any hemp rope? Any other rope will do."

Cai Cheng was momentarily stunned and instinctively replied, "There's some in the kitchen."

Zhong Rui didn’t hesitate and ordered, "Bring it here."

So Cai Cheng stopped moving his stuff and hurried off to the kitchen to find the hemp rope.

"Planning to build a boat?" Su Han inquired.

Zhong Rui was slightly taken aback, then sighed, "As expected, I can’t keep anything from you."

Su Han murmured softly, "All the shops are closed, so we can't buy an inflatable boat. I’ve also thought about building a boat by hand. But... don’t you think it's too early to make a boat now?"

What if it gets stolen once it’s done?

"This is my first time trying this, so I plan to make several. That way, I’ll have options," Zhong Rui said with a hint of helplessness. "Plus, I’m worried the system might pull a fast one, flooding the place overnight and reaching our door."

Su Han fell silent for a moment, feeling that her companion's concerns were not unfounded. She then offered, "Then I’ll help out. What materials are you planning to use for the boat?"

"After scouting around, I found some good bamboo in the nearby park. I plan to cut it down and make a bamboo raft," Zhong Rui had already made up his mind.

Su Han pointed at the dark sky outside and the pouring rain, somewhat speechless, "Are you sure this is the weather to go out and cut bamboo?"

"Better to suffer now than struggle in the water later," Zhong Rui said indifferently. "The most important thing is that bamboo is currently the most suitable material for making a boat."

"Go ahead then. I’ll figure something else out," Su Han refused to go out in the rain.

Zhong Rui had no choice but to go alone.

When Cai Cheng came back with the hemp rope, he couldn't find Zhong Rui and asked in confusion, "Where is he?"

Su Han casually replied, "He had something urgent and went out. Just give the rope to me."

Cai Cheng handed over the rope without question and continued diligently moving his belongings.

Su Han threw the rope into Room 502 and then wandered around the inn.

Since Cai Cheng said rent could be paid with goods, the number of customers in the inn had significantly decreased. After the tornado and hailstorm, some couldn’t survive and vanished into a beam of white light. Others left the inn to seek other livelihoods, their whereabouts unknown.

Now, except for one tenant on the second floor who was moving his luggage to the fourth floor, everyone else stayed behind closed doors, holed up in their rooms.

Su Han was quite puzzled, "If he's moving, why doesn't he just move to the fifth floor?"

Cai Cheng smiled ingratiatingly, "The fifth floor is reserved for you two, it's the VIP area. For safety reasons, I won't allow other tenants to move there. The entire fifth floor will just be the three of us!"

Su Han realized that the landlord himself also lived on the fifth floor and naturally didn't want strangers nearby, threatening his safety. She found it somewhat amusing but simply responded, "Hmm, that's good."

Su Han took the time to explore the unoccupied rooms, getting a general idea. As she was pondering a detailed plan, Zhong Rui walked in, soaked to the bone.

"Did cutting bamboo not go well?" Su Han raised an eyebrow, a smile playing on her lips.

Zhong Rui patted the rainwater off his shoulders and said irritably, "I'm not that foolish to do it all by myself. The original plan was to use food as payment to hire others to cut the bamboo."

"But after wandering around, I couldn't see a soul. Even if I knocked on doors one by one, no one answered."

"Oddly, even in broad daylight, the sky was as dark as midnight. Plus, the heavy rain obstructed visibility. The ground was flooded, almost up to the knees, making movement very inconvenient. So I came back first."

"Things are pretty bad," Su Han muttered. "But then again, it's the late stage of the game."

"Got any ideas?" Zhong Rui asked his companion.

Su Han casually pointed to an empty room and said nonchalantly, "Some rooms have soft beds, others have hard plank beds. We can take apart the wooden planks to build a boat."

Zhong Rui paused before saying, "I know wooden planks can be used to make a boat, but the material isn't great. A wooden boat can easily go under once it starts taking on water. A bamboo raft, on the other hand, can last longer."

Su Han shrugged and spread her hands, "With no other options, we'll just have to make do." At least it's a boat.

"True enough," Zhong Rui admitted. He got Cai Cheng over and filled him in.

Before he could finish, Cai Cheng quickly offered that the wooden plank beds could be used however they wanted, as long as he could be taken along once the boat was made.

Zhong Rui nodded, and the three of them got busy.

The plan was to first take apart the wooden plank beds and then put them back together. But soon, they ran into trouble.

Su Han propped her chin on her hand, "We need a hammer and some screws."

Cai Cheng scratched his head, "But we don't have a hammer or screws... What now?" The island felt like a ghost town, and there was no telling where to find those tools.

Zhong Rui's voice was serious, "If it comes down to it, we'll just have to ride the planks and go with the flow."

"Isn't that too risky?" Su Han questioned, "The balance would be off, and it could tip over right away."

Zhong Rui shot back, "Or do you have a better idea?" With not enough materials and no tools, making a boat out of planks was the best they could do. Actually, they could also take apart the doors to make a boat, but it wouldn't be much better.

Su Han went quiet.

Cai Cheng gave an awkward laugh, trying to lighten the mood, "We don't have to make a boat. Maybe the rain will let up by tomorrow? We're on the fifth floor, which is quite safe."

Zhong Rui remained silent. Counting on the system to cut them some slack seemed like a long shot. But at this point, he had no other options.

"Worrying won't help. Let's just see how things play out," Su Han said, then turned and went back to her room.

The air in the room was stagnant, making it unbearably stuffy and hard to breathe.

Su Han took several deep breaths but found herself unable to calm down. Instead, the oppressive heat made her increasingly irritable. She couldn't help but open the window, hoping for a cool breeze to come in.

However, along with the breeze, uninvited guests also entered.

"Buzz buzz—" Several mosquitoes flew around the room, their noise giving her a headache.

Su Han's expression remained impassive as she casually picked up a book as a weapon, swiftly and accurately swatting two mosquitoes.

Perhaps stimulated, the remaining mosquitoes flew even faster, with one even buzzing near her ear.

Su Han quickly swept the book past her ear, driving the mosquito away. At the same time, she thought, "No air conditioning, no electric fan, no mosquito coils, no mosquito net—this life is unbearable."

Even worse, because of the heavy rain, the outside was pitch black. With the power out, the lighting inside wasn't much better. In the dim environment, it was hard for her to see where the mosquitoes were. Only when lightning flashed did the room briefly brighten.

Su Han considered lighting a candle, but fearing that insects are attracted to light, she didn't dare take the risk—in the pitch darkness, a single room with its windows wide open and a light on would be like inviting all the mosquitoes on the island to a gathering.

"A decision must be made," Su Han muttered to herself.

Opening the window would make the indoor temperature much better, but mosquitoes would come in.

Closing the window would make the room stuffy, but after killing all the mosquitoes, the world would be quiet.

Which option to choose? After a moment of hesitation, Su Han came up with an idea. She opened the window for an hour to ensure a comfortable indoor temperature, then firmly closed it. After that, she lit a candle in the middle of the room and started exterminating the insects.

Let's face it, mosquitoes are a real pain. Small in size, fast in flight, and particularly fond of hiding in corners. Finding them is already difficult, let alone eradicating them completely.

Su Han stood on a chair at one moment, taking out mosquitoes on the ceiling; at another, she quietly approached the corners, silently completing her assassinations. By the time the buzzing stopped, she was nearly too exhausted to stand.

"What a hassle of a dungeon," Su Han complained before falling asleep.

The next morning, she woke up feeling inexplicably itchy on her arm and couldn't help but scratch. When she opened her eyes, she was instantly wide awake—there were four large bites on her arm, along with a pool of blood and mosquito corpses. Clearly, she caught the mosquito mid-bite and squashed it in revenge.

"Mosquitoes love hiding in corners; you can never get them all," Su Han lamented. But then again, every mosquito killed is one less to worry about, and having only one mosquito eyeing her is better than a swarm.

"Huh?" Su Han checked her status bar and noticed something was wrong.

Hunger: 70%, Cleanliness: 85%, Stamina: 90%. Status: Good, but suffering from mosquito bites.

"Do mosquito bites give you a debuff?" Su Han murmured to herself, genuinely reflecting, "Without stocking up on cooling ointment, how will I survive the later stages of the dungeon?"

As she said this, she applied the cooling ointment. Right after using it, her stamina went up by 20, and the 'mosquito bite' debuff was gone.

Suddenly, Su Han remembered something, "If I remember right, Zhong Rui and I cleaned out the pharmacy at the start of the game?"

Su Han, "..."

This meant other players would be stuck with the 'mosquito bite' debuff if they didn't restock or find cooling ointment.

As she lit a candle for her teammates, she felt lucky—thankfully, she acted quickly and didn't become one of the unfortunate masses.

At that moment, the system's mechanical voice interrupted her thoughts, "Day 17: Abnormal weather. The temperature keeps rising, hitting 35 degrees."

"With the rising heat, glaciers are melting, and sea levels are climbing."

Su Han rushed to the corridor and looked down. Overnight, the first floor had been swallowed by water, and the second floor was next. Anyone standing in the inn's lobby now would be underwater.

Cai Cheng stared at the water below and said, relieved, "Good thing we moved rooms." Otherwise, drowning in sleep was not impossible.

Su Han stayed silent, her brow furrowed in worry—only day 17! How would they make it to day 20?

"Give it your all and let fate handle the rest," Zhong Rui appeared beside Su Han at some point and whispered.

Su Han instantly understood. He meant that missing the reward was fine, as long as they didn't get disqualified.

Su Han pursed her lips, then waved her companions over. "Come to my room."

Zhong Rui calmly followed.

Cai Cheng, "..."

I think I overheard something I wasn't supposed to.

Entering room 501, Zhong Rui stood calmly to the side.

Su Han moved the tables and chairs aside, then took out several quilts, along with some cling film and tape from her Portable Storage.

Zhong Rui realized something, "You're not thinking of making a boat out of this, are you?"

"Don't worry, it's doable," Su Han said casually. "I often watch survival shows; there was one episode where they made a boat to cross a river with limited materials."

"I've been around the inn. The quilts were taken from empty rooms, and the cling film and tape were from the kitchen. No one else has a clue."

"Come and lend a hand. The workload is too much for just me."

Zhong Rui, "..."

He figured she wouldn't have called him if she didn't need help. Thinking this, his expression became somewhat subtle.

Without even glancing, Su Han knew what Zhong Rui was thinking. She explained seriously, "I don't plan to tell anyone else about making this handmade boat. Only you and I know."

"If we bring NPCs along, it would be a hassle to take things out of the Portable Storage."

"If we bring other players, more people just mean more trouble. Besides, too many people would overcrowd the boat. If someone deliberately sabotages and wrecks the boat, that would be a disaster."

"So, what's the final call?" Zhong Rui pressed further.

Su Han said solemnly, "We're making two Quilt Boats—one main and one backup. Only the two of us will board since we can't trust anyone else."

"If you're okay with that, can you help make the boat now? The system is worse than I thought, and the water's rising fast."

Since she doesn't trust anyone else, does that mean he's somewhat trustworthy? Zhong Rui felt pleased and rolled up his sleeves, walking over. "How do we do it? You guide, and I'll handle the work."

Su Han began instructing, "First, fold the quilts neatly, then tape them up tight. Next, wrap them in several layers of cling film to keep the water out. And that's it—the boat's done."

With the materials, making a boat is a breeze. But the catch is, doing it alone is a pain.

For instance, Zhong Rui held the quilts while Su Han taped them up easily. But alone, taping while flipping the quilts would be a nightmare.

Likewise, Zhong Rui held the secured quilts while Su Han quickly wrapped them in cling film. But alone, it would take her at least three or four hours.

If she asked others for help, word would get out fast. And besides... if she asked others for help, how could she refuse if someone later demanded to board the boat?

So, Su Han was pretty relieved to have roped Zhong Rui into doing the heavy lifting.

Working together, they quickly shaped the Quilt Boat.

Su Han announced a short break before starting on the second one.

Zhong Rui carefully examined the Quilt Boat and thought the finished product actually looked quite decent.

Suddenly, Su Han asked, "If there were no Quilt Boat, would you really plan to drift on a wooden plank?"

In fact, she had wanted to ask this question yesterday. In her opinion, Zhong Rui was a strong player who could clear the beginner dungeon; he shouldn't just rely on fate.

Zhong Rui sighed lightly, "Even a skilled housewife can't cook without rice." Without materials, there was nothing he could do.

Su Han didn't want to believe it.

But the next second, Zhong Rui changed his tone, "But drifting on a wooden plank doesn't mean waiting to die. There's always a way to improve the situation." Just like hiding in the deep mountains in the beginner dungeon didn't mean seeking death.

"That makes sense," Su Han said with a thoughtful expression.

After a short break, the two continued working. By the time they ran out of cling film, they had just finished the second Quilt Boat. And by then, the tape was also almost gone.

"How about each of us takes one Quilt Boat and keeps it separately?" Su Han suggested.

"Sure," Zhong Rui agreed readily and generously let his companion choose first.

Logically, there were slight differences between the two boats. The more cling film was wrapped, the better the boat's waterproofing. But Su Han didn't care and randomly picked one to stuff into her Portable Storage.

Zhong Rui, on the other hand, casually took the other one.

Author's note: You can refer to Ji Hyo's Quilt Boat in Running Man (☆_☆)